If you were looking forward to seeing an updated version of the classic Ben-Hur story on the big screen, then you'll be happy to hear that principal photography has officially started on the epic, with a more full cast last revealed as well. Come inside to see.

I'm honestly not sure what to think about a Ben-Hur remake. Done correctly, it could be pretty cool and a great way to introduce a new generation to this story. It also has a good chance of sucking, but that's the risk you take with any remake. Either way, I tend to hold off judgement until I've seen footage, which we've just taken a big step towards seeing as filming has officially started:

Although it comes as no great shock, Fifty Shades of Grey has officially been granted an 18 certificate for "strong sex and nudity".

It's something of a rarity these days to even see a film get an 18, with studios keen to get their films in front of the widest possible audiences. The highest classification is usually reserved for movies containing extreme sex or violence, but it doesn't necessarily have to mean it's box office poison.

Given the right story circumstances, an 18 can hit the target and find financial success. You only need to glance back to late last year to see the column inches/pixels generated by David Fincher's explosive Gone Girl.

Digital Spy takes a look at the 20 highest-grossing 18 certificate movies in the UK below (note: figures are not adjusted for inflation):

One thing was pretty certain going into Friday night's Ace Eddie Awards ceremony honoring the best in editing: "Boyhood" was an odds-on lock to win the drama prize, and is, as ever, the frontrunner to win the Oscar in the category. So that happened. With "Birdman" tearing up the guild circuit, though, certainly plenty of us had an eye on it coming out on top in the comedy field, despite a lacking Oscar nod. Alas, that didn't happen.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel," which was nominated for a film editing Oscar, came out on top. Cue more "what does it all mean" dialogue. It doesn't mean that much, though. There used to be a stat some folks would cling to re: Ace's place in the Best Picture build, but "12 Years a Slave" (nor "Gravity," for that matter) didn't win there. "The King's Speech" didn't win there. "No Country for Old Men,
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Let's look at what's trending. 'Serious' cinema reigns; we need realism, we need our James Bond gritty. The playfulness of Errol Flynn's multi-color Robin Hood has been traded out for the brawny blood spilling Russell Crowe. Exit color, enter the blue hued sordid filter of late. Now notice this is very new. Pierce Brosnan surfed a Tsunami in Die Another Day, and that was just recently in 2002. Now Daniel Craig's Bond is struggling with old age, bad cardio, and a rusty shot? We've come a long ways from the 007 who rescued bikini laden damsels while fending off eye patched bad guys.

The old Burton Batman went from surrealist nightmare, to Christopher Nolan crime thriller. Superman began a lighthearted ass-kicker, and became an isolated brood who gradually unclosets his powers (the red of his cape can barely manage the aforementioned depressing blue palette, it looks purple). So what's that say of an audience exactly?
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Let's look at what's trending. 'Serious' cinema reigns; we need realism, we need our James Bond gritty. The playfulness of Errol Flynn's multi-color Robin Hood has been traded out for the brawny blood spilling Russell Crowe. Exit color, enter the blue hued sordid filter of late. Now notice this is very new. Pierce Brosnan surfed a Tsunami in Die Another Day, and that was just recently in 2002. Now Daniel Craig's Bond is struggling with old age, bad cardio, and a rusty shot? We've come a long ways from the 007 who rescued bikini laden damsels while fending off eye patched bad guys.

The old Burton Batman went from surrealist nightmare, to Christopher Nolan crime thriller. Superman began a lighthearted ass-kicker, and became an isolated brood who gradually unclosets his powers (the red of his cape can barely manage the aforementioned depressing blue palette, it looks purple). So what's that say of an audience exactly?
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HBO has given the go-ahead to the pilot for "Virtuoso," a musical series from Elton John, his husband David Furnish and "True Blood" creator Alan Ball. The hour-long period drama follows a class of young, 18th-century European musicians attending a prestigious music academy in Vienna. Production is set to begin in Budapest this Spring.
Ball's partner Peter Macdissi, who appeared in both "True Blood" and "Six Feet Under," Ball's first cable series after his "American Beauty" Oscar win for Best Screenplay, will star and executive-produce. Ball and Macdissi have written the teleplay, with a pilot story to be penned by Macdissi, Ball and co-executive producer Steve Hamilton Shaw.
This isn't the only musical period series on HBO's docket. Martin Scorsese has a full series order on his plate for a yet-to-be-titled '70s rock drama co-executive produced by Terence Winter and Mick Jagger. (More on that here.)
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1) "House of Cards" Season 3 (available February 27)Why Should I Watch It? Um, because you're a living, breathing human being? Because Kevin Spacey won a Golden Globe for his riveting, seductive performance as Frank Underwood, when he couldn't for his roles in "The Usual Suspects," "Beyond the City" or "American Beauty"? Because the series' real star is Robin Wright and her ruthless yet humane portrayal of Claire Underwood? Because last season we saw murder, at least one threesome and a rapid rise to power? Maybe you should watch because if you're reading this, you already want to — succumb. Enjoy. Watch.
Best Episode: Maybe it's because Netflix releases episodes all at once, but so far "House of Cards" has treated its season premieres with equal importance as its finales — in terms of twists, at least. [Spoilers ahead] Season 1 established the Underwood's mission to destroy President Walker, introduced us to the
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Olivia Culpo might not be Miss Universe anymore, but she definitely stole the show! The former Miss USA had all eyes on her when she showed up to the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant on Sunday at the Trump National Doral Hotel in Florida, wearing a super sexy and jaw-dropping gown. Nick Jonas' other half walked the carpet with her musician boyfriend in the Michael Costello creation ... a dress that showed plenty of cleavage and had sheer side panels in the pelvic region.The youngest Jonas brother performed his hit song "Jealous" at the event, a tune inspired by his 22-year-old girlfriend. The singer recently admitted to feeling envious over some unwanted male attention his beauty received which led him to pen the song. In that dress, we can see why! A new Miss Universe was crowned at the event: Miss Columbia Paulina Vega.The South American beauty took home the
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A lot of time and effort goes into brainstorming, designing, making and distributing movie posters as they are a key element of raising awareness of and advertising the movie they are depicting.

In many cases, they become almost as iconic as the movies themselves – look at the shark looming upwards towards the helpless and blissfully unaware victim on the poster for Jaws, the fingers touching on the poster for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the rose across the girl’s stomach on the poster for American beauty or the lone titular character sitting on a bench on the poster for Forrest Gump for memorable examples – and it’s important that they reflect what the movie in question is about whilst being eye-catching at the same time.

It isn’t just blockbuster movies that need to have great posters, however. In fact, it could be considered more important for smaller,
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Chicago – In “Men, Women & Children,” director Jason Reitman not-so-audaciously reflects onto viewers their world of silent screens and awkward impersonal interactions. As many stories (“Don Jon,” “Disconnect”) have taken on the torch of showing how we are, gasp! — connected to the world yet disconnected from those close to us — Reitman’s tale is just another one for the batch.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

When the aliens of another planet excavate our digital ruins to understand what we thought of what we wrought, “Men, Women & Children” shall stand out as the film that angled the screen society through the lens of absurdities and perversions, more by the parents than their title kin. Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer portray parents who exhibit control over their kin, enabled by the connectivity and mass audiences awaiting a simple post on the internet. In an example of screen culture absurdity, a stoic Garner is a vehement watchdog over
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American Sniper stands to be the most financially profitable of this year's Best Picture Oscar contenders by a long way, having out-grossed most of the others' lifetime domestic totals in its first weekend on wide release.

The $90.2 million opening is the highest January opening of all time, more than doubling the opening weekend record set by Ride Along at the same time last year, and it's easily the strongest box office performer of director Clint Eastwood's career.

In short, it did the kind of business you would expect from a superhero movie, or a new instalment in an established franchise, and yet it's an R-rated war drama based on a true story. Irrespective of our thoughts on the film, that's a stunning début.
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On this week's special edition of Week We Love, Will Marfuggi is here to give you the latest entertainment scoop, as well as a sneak peek at the newest trends!
She's known as the queen of rom-coms, but now Jennifer Aniston takes on an entirely different role in her new movie Cake, where she stars as a woman suffering from chonic pain. Her role in the drama earned the actress a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival, and the movie also features Anna Kendrick and Sam Worthington!
Fall Out Boy (yes, they're still together) is releasing their sixth studio album, and their music video for the title track "American Beauty/American Psycho" features ballerinas fighting! You won't want to miss
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It's that time of the year again...
Here's PBS' Black History Month lineup of programming lineup and online content offerings.
- Beginning in February, "Antiques Roadshow" premieres “Celebrating Black Americana,” where, among other items, participants bring, for appraisal, an 1821 citizenship certificate for a free man of color and an African American beauty book written by entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker, the first American female millionaire. On "Genealogy Roadshow," where professional genealogists use history and science to uncover fascinating family secrets, participants in New Orleans explore family links to the
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Wow, we haven't seen Thora Birch in forever! The "American Beauty" star attended the premiere of Jennifer Aniston's new movie "Cake" in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Sporting a black and pink patterned dress, black pumps and her hair in natural waves, the actress was the spitting image of her younger self. We haven't seen the 32-year-old in public much, since she appeared in the TV movie the "Pregnancy Pact" back in 2010.Birch was joined on the red carpet by the movie's leading lady who looked gorgeous in her white crop top and matching lace empire skirt. Jen completed her look with black pumps, silver jewelry and wore her hair in a messy ponytail. The "Friends" alum's dramatic role has been generating rave reviews, and while Aniston was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, she was snubbed from this year's Oscar nominees which were announced Thursday morning. In the flick,
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TheWrap was inside the Artios Awards nominee party to mingle with contenders at Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood lounge

Hollywood’s most acclaimed casting directors came together at the 2015 Artios Nominee Party on Tuesday at Sur in West Hollywood, in a joint production between the Casting Society of America and Breakdown Services.

As casting directors still strive for recognition — it may just be the last branch not to have its own category at the Academy Awards — the tight-knit community gathered to celebrate each other’s achievements over the past year ahead of the official Artios Awards ceremony on Thursday, Jan.
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Carrie Underwood likes to keep her beauty regime ''simple''. The 31-year-old star is the face Almay cosmetics' new Simply American campaign - which is set to launch next week - and believes the make-up range is perfect for those who like a more ''natural'' look. She told People magazine: ''Simply American beauty, for me, is about keeping things simple and feeling good about yourself. It doesn't have to be complicated, it's that natural beauty that we all possess.'' The 'Something in the Water' singer - who is expecting her first child, a baby boy, with husband Mike Fisher - embodies the ''All-American Girl'' theme in the campaign images by donning a stars-and-stripes printed vest while relaxing on a gingham blanket and swing-chair with her adorable puppy Ace. The blonde beauty - who is a spokesperson for Almay - recently confessed that she prefers to do her own
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On the day after the Golden Globe Awards, much discussion has concerned the rise of online video distributors. While the four major networks were completely shut out of major awards, Netflix and Amazon each scored big wins. Most significantly, Amazon's breakout hit Transparent won Best TV Series - Comedy or Musical and Best Actor - Comedy or Musical for its star Jeffrey Tambor. On Netflix's side, Kevin Spacey won Best Actor - Drama for his role in House of Cards.

The win is particularly significant for Amazon. Transparent's Golden Globe nominations were the platform's first ever award nods, and by picking up two wins, the online retailer-turned-video on demand platform took a big step forward as it looks to challenge both Netflix and traditional TV networks.

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